Well, in a sense, no matter what, we remain just as we are, so we are still perfectly authentic according to nature in every moment. But i suppose to an individual who wants to be consistent and true in what he says, does, thinks, etc, it would matter?

@ Unfair, do you mean a true 'self' as opposed to an untrue self? and how do you differentiate between such? Many people feel like they are true to themselves.

Isn't the ideal to be consistent in what you say, think, feel, do, etc? For a thinking man, self honesty is essential. If you aren't honest with yourself you cannot think deeply. And if you can't think deeply you can't know things that other people don't know. Deep thinking is a kind of cognizance of your own feelings about things. The world is reflected in you, and to know it you have to know what you feel.

Coming at us with the tag 'unfair' and the declaration that people should be moral (authentic) could well indicate you have been deceived by somebody and an ambition of yours has been thwarted.If that's the case.Are you being authentic here?

I disagree, it is not something that's easy. It doesn't mean blurting out whatever might be passing through one's dimly lit consciousness at any particular moment. It does take effort, consideration, thought. Being authentic doesn't mean going around trampling on anything that might be in your way. Authenticity is not an excuse for insensitivity. To be authentic also means to know your own faults.

can you say I'm breathingcan you say I'm beating my heartcan you say I'm hearingcan you say I'm smellingcan you say this is my body

get rid of the pronouns and these things continue to happen!

life is doing it...not you.

how can you say I'm thinkinghow can you say I'm choosing

there's a sense of being in the moment where it unfolds naturally and later the I thought rises to claim ownership and doership which automatically pulls one out of the moment..in the moment, out of the moment aren't separate, just 2 sides of the same coin..

That's fine to theorize about, but no one actually lives like that. Whether it is an 'illusion' or not you still live with a sense of yourself. You still blame yourself for some things and blame others for other things. You are an individual among other individuals, that's the practical way in which people live, anything else is just fanciful thinking.

Dennis Mahar wrote:OK,you take charge of your breathing for a while.you take over the beating of the heartyou stop yourself from hearing, talking, smelling,feelingyou stop the flow of thought, the flow of emotion

let's see who is fanciful.

a sense of self is a thought...labelingblaming is a thought...labelling

labels don't do anything except labelthey get attached after the fact..they deal with the past, it's already moved on.